Wednesday, December 16, 2009

For most of my life, marshmallows and I have not been friends. I’d make my s’mores with only chocolate chips and graham crackers, I preferred whipped cream in my hot cocoa and candied-yam casserole was not welcome on my holiday plate.

I’m not sure if it’s the spongy texture or the plain flavor, but marshmallows just never appealed to me. I was even convinced that they were a chemically engineered food, with nary an ingredient found in the natural world.

But one day I had a homemade marshmallow. And everything changed.

I had always found commercially produced marshmallows insipid, but a homemade marshmallow has depth and character, with its sweetness more robust, its texture more springy and its flavor more nuanced. Heck, the two types of marshmallows are hardly the same confection.

Now if you go to a store that sells these artisan marshmallows, you can expect to pay a lot of money. We even have one place in New York City that sells each one for four dollars. That’s ridiculous! But with a strong stand mixer and a little time, you can make your own marshmallows for a fraction of the cost.
A marshmallow’s base flavor is vanilla, which is pleasant, but I wanted to jazz mine up a bit. I threw in cinnamon and chipotle for warmth and spice and then added a bit of chocolate for its bittersweet, creamy notes. After I made my fluff, it was tempting to add it to a peanut-butter sandwich, but I decided to wait and let the marshmallows set so I could eat them as they were meant to be.

My patience definitely rewarded me as the marshmallows were fluffy with a red-hot flavor, enjoyable both on their own and dropped into a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

And perhaps its better for both my teeth and my waistline that I’ve only recently been introduced to the delight of good marshmallows, because trust me, once you start eating these you won’t want to stop.

In the bottom of your mixer, mix the gelatin with a 1/2 cup of water. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

Melt the chocolate and then stir in the cocoa powder. Add to the gelatin and beat until combined.

In a large pot, mix together the sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup of water. Insert the candy thermometer and turn the heat onto medium low. Without stirring, let the syrup cook until it reaches 248 degrees.

Remove from heat and slowly add sugar syrup to the gelatin/chocolate mixture. Add the salt, cinnamon and chipotle and mix at high speed for 10 minutes or until it’s fluffy. Add the vanilla and pour marshmallow fluff into prepared pan.

Let it set for at least four hours. Remove marshmallow slab from the pan.

dredge it in powdered sugar. With a sharp knife, cut marshmallow into squares or you can use a cookie cutter for more whimsical shapes.

My taste buds are already dancing just imagining the combination of flavors. I have everything listed except a candy thermometer. Curses! All I have is a meat thermometer, and another kind that I want as far away from my food as possible.

i have to say, that sounds like the best marshmallow flavor ever. the cinnamon/chipotle/chocolate combo is a favorite of mine! i'll also admit that i've never had a fresh marshmallow and share your opinion on the mass-produced crap in the grocery stores. this recipe is calling my name!

Can't wait to try.Question - the picture of the marshmallow in the hot chocolate looks like it is more than powder sugar on the top...looks more like frosting..is it really just powder sugar.Also, if you were going to roll in toasted coconut, when would you do that? Thanks so much.

Oh man, I could so go for one or two of these in my hot chocolate. Or just in my mouth. And I do love the idea of using the fluff for a peanut butter sandwich - I think I just drooled a bit when I read that.

This definitely looks like something fun to try. I'm not familiar with chipotle. Is it very hot? Would children object to the flavor? Does it give a "hint" or an "obvious" taste sensation? Keep up the great posts.

Yummy! I totally agree with you - my first homemade marshmallow was a life changing experience - and I liked marshmallows before that.

The funny thing is that I am planning on making spiced hot chocolate tomorrow --- I like it really thick and rich (like Spanish hot chocolate) with a bit of chilies and cinnamon thrown in. Now, if I made my marshmallow with cinnamon and chipotle powder, I think that would just take it over the top. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

By the way, I posted a comment several months ago on the cheese enchiladas recipe site but I wanted to let you know again how much I love that recipe. We've been traveling for the last 3 months in Australia and New Zealand and haven't had even close to mediocre Tex-Mex food (they make their margaritas with lemons instead of limes and puree their guacamole). Anyway, we are back in the US for the holidays before we leave for India and Southeast Asia, so I made your cheese enchiladas last week and we both started moaning with delight. Of the many, many, many recipes for enchiladas I have tried, your cheese enchilada recipe is our favorite. Thanks again for doing what you do.

CHIPOTLE ROCKS! I make Mexican style hot cocoa all the time and just made a batch of these and they are out of this world! I have some ghost pepper powder that has a mild heat index of 1.5 million Scoville Units with the flavor of Chipotle. I'm just gonna have to try a tiny pinch. hmmmmmmm

Now i need to find my chile pepper cookie cutter and dye my next batch orange, red, or green,

They look delicious! I have a couple of questions about the recipe - you list salt in the ingredients but not in the recipe. When should that be added? And how much vanilla? It's not listed with the ingredients.

Tasty Eats at Home--I'll definitely be saving some of the fluff next time!

Anon--It's more smoky than hot, but that said I know some people that find it terribly fiery--it just depends on how much heat you can take; I can take a lot. Its contribution is just a hint but you can omit it if you're afraid the kids won't like it.

Akila--Oh, thank you! I'm so glad the cheese enchiladas make y'all happy. And yes, this marshmallow was made for your spicy hot chocolate!

Melissa--Thanks for confirming that you can get chipotle powder at HEB (in bulk no less--man, do I miss that here in NYC).

eonyc--Aw, thank you! And you sound like me--I'll eat just about anything once I hear it has chipotle.

Seren Dippity--Oh, yes!

ncdodave--You know, I have to admit I've never had ghost pepper anything--I need to get on that! So glad you liked them!

VintageMixer--Enjoy and it is indeed the season!

Tessa--Thank you so much for noticing the omissions. I've since updated the recipe--salt goes in with the spices and I used 1 teaspoon of vanilla, though you could use more if you like.

Kelsey B.--They're surprisingly easy--just a bit of sticky mess.

Barbara--I updated the recipe--salt goes in with the spices and I used 1 teaspoon of vanilla. And raspberry marshmallows? Oh, my--now you're talking!

I love homemade marshmallows and have made them in both vanilla flavor and raspberry flavor. For someone that has never liked store bought marshmallows, homemade ones were surprisingly delicious to me!

I don't use a candy thermometer (mostly because my kids have broken my three) and just wait for the sugar mixture to come to the hard ball stage (I drop a small dot onto a cool surface and if it is solid, yet still soft, then it's done...about ten minutes at med-high temp).

I tried out your marshmallow recipe today as my husband is a huge fan of marshmallows.

The flavors were delicious and spot on! I made one critical error though and forgot to oil the foil. Getting them out was pretty difficult after that and involved ripping shreds of foil off the marshmallows before dredging them in powdered sugar. I will be sure not to make this mistake next time... and trust me there will be a next time!

i make totasted coconut marshmallows...i put a bit of the toasted coconut in whatever pan i will pour the marshmallow "batter" into...then pour it in and top with more coconut. when it has set up i pull the whole thing out of pan, slice into servings and dust exposed edges with powdered sugar to prevent sticking. YUMMMY!

Sadly, I made these and it was a total fail! The marshmallow never "fluffed" and I ended up with a goopy mess which did not set even after several days. After some research online, I found several sources which claim that fat (like that in the chocolate) prevents the marshmallow from whipping up. How did you get yours to whip with the 3 ounces of chocolate in it? I will try again (as some have suggested) but leave out the chocolate ... will let you know how it goes.

GT--I'm sorry they didn't work for you. I've never had any problems with the chocolate, but as it's a candy there are many variables that could cause them to fail such as the sugar not being the correct temperature or it being too humid outside. I hope your next attempt at making marshmallows goes better!

Great recipe! I made these last weekend without a candy thermometer and used this website to keep me from getting nervous about messing up the sugar cooking: http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/sugar-stages.htmlI had made Martha Stewart's plain marshmallows in Austin and Boulder before attempting these in Mexico City this time. Had to cook the sugar for what seemed like forever (and forgot to time it...sorry), nearly burned out the motor on my hand mixer, but the results were perfect! Can't wait to make them again.

Homesick, these are delightful! I never realized just how easy it is to make marshmallows at home. The hardest part was trying to cut them apart. Any tips on that? I tried to use cookie cutters and a knife, and, well, what resulted was not the prettiest thing in the world. Sure are delicious, though!

I made homemade marshmallows for Christmas and my family thought I was crazy, but they loved them in the ambrosia-piped them out with a decorating bag and then cut into 1/2 inch pieces. I can't wait to try these! We'll have plenty of opportunities to use them on dreary evenings in Seattle! I just found your site this morning and will now be a faithful follower!

I know this post is years old but I made these marshmallows last night and just having one now with a cup of coffee and they are delicious. Omitted the chipotle as it's hard to find here in Aus but used fresh crushed cinnamon, mmmm. really like the texture too, quite different from the previous egg white marshmallows I've made previously but it has a richness which is beautiful. Thanks, think this blog will be a favorite.

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